archives

When members of a family are no longer in the same church or worship in the same place, what is the response of mothers, fathers, grand-parents, god-parents, uncles, aunts? How can the family be brought together and unified without making those that have made a change feel uncomfortable? How is the hirarchy reacting to this and what if a child or grandchild is brought in for baptism? How about communion when feastdays are celebrated together and family members want to join in or are not even aware of the "church regulations" covering such items?

Recently I have had the experience of writing to various bishops in the United States to alert them to the fact that I was coming to do a public speech of one kind or another in their diocese. As I have received answers from those bishops, sometimes it was a very welcoming answer, and sometimes the bishop would say, "No, it's better if you do not come into my diocese because you can be controversial. You cause too much controversy."